A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13 eBook

SECTION XXXIV.

The Passage from New South Wales to New Guinea,
with an Account of what happened upon landing there.

In the afternoon of Thursday, August the 23d, after
leaving Booby Island, we steered W.N.W. with light
airs from the S.S.W. till five o’clock, when
it fell calm, and the tide of ebb soon after setting
to the N.E., we came to an anchor in eight fathom
water, with a soft sandy bottom. Booby Island
bore S. 50 E., distant five miles, and the Prince
of Wales’s Isles extended from N.E. by N. to
S. 55 E.; between these there appeared to be a clear
open passage, extending from N. 46 E. to E. by N.

At half an hour after five in the morning of the 24th,
as we were purchasing the anchor, the cable parted
at about eight or ten fathom from the ring: The
ship then began to drive, but I immediately dropped
another anchor, which brought her up before she got
more than a cable’s length from the buoy; the
boats were then sent to sweep for the anchor, but
could not succeed. At noon our latitude by observation
was 10 deg. 30’ S. As I was resolved not to
leave the anchor behind, while there remained a possibility
of recovering it, I sent the boats again after dinner
with a small line, to discover where it lay; this being
happily effected, we swept for it with a hawser, and
by the same hawser hove the ship up to it: We
proceeded to weigh it, but just as we were about to
ship it, the hawser slipped, and we had all our labour
to repeat: By this time it was dark, and we were
obliged to suspend our operations till the morning.

As soon as it was light, we sweeped it again, and
heaved it to the bows: By eight o’clock
we weighed the other anchor, got under sail, and, with
a fine breeze at E.N.E. stood to the north-west.
At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 10 deg.
18’ S., longitude 219 deg. 39’ W. At this
time we had no land in sight, but about two miles
to the southward of us lay a large shoal, upon which
the sea broke with great violence, and part of which,
I believe, is dry at low water. It extends N.W.
and S.E., and is about five leagues in circuit.
Our depth of water, from the time we weighed till
now, was nine fathom, but it soon shallowed to seven
fathom; and at half an hour after one, having run eleven
miles between noon and that time, the boat which was
a-head made the signal for shoal water; we immediately
let go an anchor, and brought the ship up with all
the sails standing, for the boat, having just been
relieved, was at but a little distance: Upon
looking out from the ship, we saw shoal water almost
all round us, both wind and tide at the same time setting
upon it. The ship was in six fathom, but upon
sounding round her, at the distance of half a cable’s
length, we found scarcely two. This shoal reached
from the east, round by the north and west, as far
as the south-west, so that there was no way for us
to get clear but that which we came. This was